A FeederWatcher shares his strategies

An invasion of House Sparrows almost caused FeederWatcher Bill Kampen in Leavenworth, Washington, to stop feeding birds. A few sparrows appeared at Bill’s feeders one day, and soon there were so many House Sparrows that they crowded out other species. It can be difficult to prevent House Sparrows from dominating a backyard. Bill tried many strategies, like spreading bark butter (a soft suet) on the underside of tree limbs, hoping House Sparrows wouldn’t attempt to reach such an inaccessible food source. Bill told us that the sparrows “hovered in place like hummingbirds,” to get at the bark butter. “You have to admire their tenacity and ingenuity.” After some trial and error, Bill found a few effective strategies, shared below.

If you’ve tried everything, consider taking down feeders for a couple of weeks. Then build back the feeding operation one feeder at a time. And if you have nest boxes that House Sparrows are using, swap them for wren or chickadee boxes, which have smaller entrance holes. Because House Sparrows are not native, it is legal to remove them. Given their invasive nature, reducing their populations may in some cases help native bird populations, but this option isn’t for everyone. Individuals who would like to take an active role in reducing House Sparrow populations can find information on the NestWatch website.

Although there is evidence that House Sparrows out compete native birds for nest cavities, it’s unclear if feeding them harms native bird populations. Nevertheless, we know that many people would rather not feed House Sparrows, and we hope that these suggestions will help them attract a wider variety of birds to their feeders.

Tips for feeding birds without feeding House Sparrows

Provide suet without embedded seeds.
Most suet-eating birds, like woodpeckers, jays, chickadees, and nuthatches, are more interested in the suet than the seeds. House Sparrows, however, favor the seeds. If you choose to use suet with embedded seeds, “upside-down feeders” that only allow access from the bottom will discourage most House Sparrows. After switching to this type of suet feeder, Bill reported, “I did see one House Sparrow clinging to it, but sparrows are just not built for hanging upside down, so the sparrow dropped off in a few seconds and has not returned.”

Try preformed seed shapes.Cylinder formed seed by Bill Kampen.

House Sparrows don’t seem to like seeds provided in hard, preformed shapes, such as cylinders or bells. Perhaps the seeds are too difficult to remove. If you use a seed cylinder, place an old CD disc on top to prevent larger birds from perching near the top and pecking down, forcing the cylinder to break apart.

Use nyjer-seed feeders to attract finches.
Small finches like American Goldfinches, Common Redpolls, and Pine Siskins will come to nyjer-seed feeders that have perches and ports too small for House Sparrows. House Sparrows may perch and attempt to feed, but their larger bodies and bills make it awkward. Crushed sunflower chips can sometimes be provided in these feeders to attract a few more small species, such as chickadees, but the chips may clump and block the ports in cold, damp conditions.

Protect sunflower seed feeders with a halo baffle.Halo baffles by Bill Kampen.Supplies for constructing a halo baffle by Bill Kampen.

University of Nebraska researchers discovered that the hanging wires used to keep gulls away from landfills and reservoirs could be used to deter House Sparrows without bothering other species. You can construct your own halo using a dome squirrel baffle/weather shield. Drill two holes on opposite sides from each other near the bottom of the baffle. Attach one end of a strand of wire through each hole, and attach a small weight to the other end of each wire. Two more strands can be added if needed by drilling holes halfway between the first holes. Find more information plus suggestions from participants on our blog. And read about a halo baffle variation in the deterring unwanted visitors section of our Tips from FeederWatchers web page.
Avoid millet, cracked corn, and all ground feeding.
House Sparrows favor millet, especially when it’s on the ground. If you want to continue providing food for ground-feeding birds such as quail, doves, and native sparrows, limit the feeding to small amounts at a time to help reduce the number of House Sparrows

Welcome to our newest blog series Methods Behind the Madness. In this series, we’re addressing some questions that delve into the more data-driven side of Project FeederWatch. We hope that these blog posts make our scientific methods easier to understand, and spark critical thinking about FeederWatch data. The first question we’d like to explore is:

Why shouldn’t I start a count when I see an exciting species?

If you see a new or uncommon bird species, it’s completely understandable to want to report it on a FeederWatch count. We get it—some birds knock your socks off! It’s great to notice rare birds, but reporting counts only when you see exciting species misrepresents the birds at your feeders and makes it seem as if rare species are more common than they really are.

Let’s say we have three FeederWatchers, Lucy, Peter, and Maria, all of whom had Pine Siskins visiting their feeders over the course of a month (see illustration below). Lucy and Peter rarely saw siskins, but Maria saw siskins frequently. Let’s see what their counts would look like if Lucy and Maria counted in the correct way (i.e. chose their count days irrespective of siskins being present) and Peter counted in an incorrect way (i.e. chose to count only on days when he saw siskins).

As the illustration shows, Maria’s counts correctly indicated that she saw siskins frequently, and Lucy’s counts correctly indicated that she saw siskins rarely. However, because Peter did his FeederWatch counts only when he saw siskins, his counts misleadingly indicated that he saw siskins as frequently as Maria. Peter counted in what is called a “biased” manner—he biased his counts toward over representing siskins, making it look like Pine Siskins were common at his feeders when they were actually as uncommon as at Lucy’s feeders. Peter wanted us to know every time he saw siskins, but counting this way makes it impossible for us to get an accurate picture of where siskins are common and where siskins are rare. Of course, there is always a chance that a species will be over or underrepresented in a count just by chance. That’s why getting lots of counts from lots of participants is so valuable. Having a large sample of counts means that a few anomalies won’t change the entire picture.

We know it may be boring to count even when there aren’t “exciting birds” around, but making sure your counts are unbiased is part of what makes Project FeederWatch data valuable. We want to know where and when the rare birds show up, but we need to know where and when they aren’t around too. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know they are rare!

The next time you see an exciting bird outside of your chosen count days, don’t despair. Make a note in your journal, take a photo, and enjoy the fantastic sighting. Keep to your normal FeederWatch schedule and trust that your counts are valuable whether you have rare visitors or not.